The poll by Boston-based Democratic research firm Beacon Research, which surveyed 1,264 registered voters from Oct. 15-19, stands in sharp contrast to one released last week by the University of Texas, which gave Abbott an 11-point lead. Others have also shown Abbott with a double-digit lead.
The FiveThirtyEight gives the Beacon Research poll a “B/C” grade for historical accuracy. However, the top issues it cites among Texas’ registered voters align with those in last week’s UT poll.
Similar to the UT survey, 22% of respondents to the Beacon poll named immigration and border security as their biggest concern, making it the race’s top issue. Economic concerns ranked a close second at 21%.
Abbott’s campaign took top marks with poll respondents on both of those issues. However, they overwhelmingly sided with O’Rourke on issues including gun policy, education and abortion, which form the bedrock of his platform.
If O’Rourke pulls off a victory on Nov. 8, he would be the first Democrat to win Texas’ governorship since Gov. Ann Richards in 1991.
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This article appears in Oct 19 – Nov 1, 2022.